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<title>Kilgon's Wacky Adventures by kilgon (flowerslug)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29507178">Kilgon's Wacky Adventures</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerslug/pseuds/kilgon'>kilgon (flowerslug)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dungeons &amp; Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Boats and Ships, Gen, Musical Instruments, Reminiscing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:14:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29507178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerslug/pseuds/kilgon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kilgon and his party having interactions. You know how it is.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barnaby Calzone &amp; Kilgon Dirthrae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Reincarnation</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Talent</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Kilgon and Barnaby have a chat.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kilgon sat out in the shade of the ship open to the sky and stared at the instrument given to him by a god. It was a pleasant, sunny day, nothing he needed to really help keep an eye on. His thumb brushed against the strange lettering along the side of the flute and he sighed.</p><p>He felt himself jump as he heard footsteps to the right of him. A familiar halfling stood there, looking perturbed to half come across him much to Kilgon’s annoyance. It was <em> his </em>ship, what right does he have to look at Kilgon like that? He didn’t even do anything. This time.</p><p>The elf looked back down at his flute and muttered, “Did you need something or-?” He wasn’t really in the mood for any of his usual stupid tricks. You can’t put on an act as manufactured as the one Kilgon forced all the time, it would kill him.</p><p>Barnaby huffed and Kilgon could see the halfling cross his arms out of the corner of his eye. “You are so annoying. I was just feeling a little restless, so I decided to take a walk around.” Despite his words, his lute was strapped against his back, something he wasn’t prone to do on the ship. There wasn’t really a point in carrying your possessions around when you’re stuck in the middle of the ocean either way.</p><p>Kilgon tightly gripped the instrument in his hands and took a steadying breath. “Hey,” he started, eyes never straying from his hands. “Do you like playing the lute?” His fingers lightly trace over the holes of the flute in his hands. He felt a light breeze caress his skin.</p><p>“What?” Barnaby asked, bewilderment tinting his tone. “I’m a bard, it would be a little weird if I didn’t like it.” Kilgon tore his eyes away from his lap to assess the expression on the bard’s face. Barnaby was looking at him with a face that said, ‘This sounds like the start of some bullshit joke I don’t want to be a part of.” Kilgon let out another sigh, this one more audible than the last.</p><p>“I guess that was a stupid question,” Kilgon mumbled, turning to watch the clouds bumble across the bright blue sky. “Forget I asked.” It really was a nice day, one of the best they had had in a while. He had no idea why he decided to come sit out here.</p><p>Kilgon hears the other man shift in place for a moment and then let out a flabbergasted “Are you… okay?” Kilgon couldn’t help but laugh at that. Is he okay? Who even cares.</p><p>“I’m fine, mind your own business-” His words catch in his throat when he sees the expression on Barnaby’s face. “I’ll <em> be </em>fine,” he amended. The sour look on Barnaby’s face melted back into one of befuddlement. Kilgon tensed when the halfling moved closer to him, but forced himself to untense as Barnaby, with obvious reluctance, sat down next to him, setting his lute down on the other side of him.</p><p>The sudden silence unnerved Kilgon. He went back to fiddling with his flute before he blurted out “It’s just that everyone is so nice about your skills, while mine are-” He stopped, trying to gain the courage to continue on. Barnaby looked at him with unreadable eyes. “It was just something that was forced on me as a child I guess. The kind of thing you don’t want to get really good at because you didn’t choose it.” Kilgon laughed bitterly. “You look like you’re having so much more fun than I ever have playing music.” </p><p>He didn’t know what was wrong with him today. Maybe it was the unassuming weather that contrasted so deeply with his mood or maybe it was being found hiding out on his own ship. He just couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut today. This guy didn’t like him, what the fuck was he doing talking to him like they were friends? He had made sure the other man didn’t like him, delighted in the fury he could incite by a mere handful of words. He liked it that way. It was better that way.</p><p>Kilgon could see Barnaby study him as if he was a strange, undiscovered specimen. “If you really don’t like it, why do you keep trying?” He asked, straight to the point. His voice was softer than before as if he was afraid to break some sort of unspoken agreement.</p><p>He bit the inside of his cheek, mulling over the question. “I don’t know,” he finally shrugged out. “It brings out emotions in people, doesn’t it?” He leaned back against the wall, a sullen smile gracing his face. This was going to come back and bite him in the ass, he knew it. You can’t say things like this to people and expect anything else.</p><p>Barnaby snorted. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.” He grabbed his instrument and laid it across his legs, casually plucking out a few notes. “You know, you don’t have to always try and get enraged emotions out of people. The great thing about music is you can put whatever emotions you want into it, y’know?” Kilgon ears perked up as the beginning of an unfamiliar song floated through the air.</p><p>“You have a lot of talent,” he said in between the sweet notes dancing in the breeze. “I was always told I didn’t have a talented bone in my body,” he chortled. “Really proved them right with this god given instrument made to make others feel fear.”</p><p>Barnaby scoffed as he continued to play, switching to another song he knew by heart. “It’s not about talent, Kilgon. It’s about investment and practice. No one is going to learn an instrument immediately. I’ve played this song dozens of times before I even came close to memorizing it. Hell, before I even came close to playing the chords with ease. If you want to be good at something, you need to be committed to it.”</p><p>Kilgon quieted at that. “You saw how my mother was in that hellish dream world. It’s not that simple. You can’t just say you’ll get better at something without showing some sort of promise.” It was starting to get darker, the sun dipping beneath the rolling waves. He watched the sky change colors before he turned back to the other man.</p><p>Kilgon didn’t know how to describe the look Barnaby gave him in that moment. “Kilgon,” he began. “You are not with that woman anymore. And you don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it. Good or bad, if you like doing it, it’s worth doing.” He patted his lute with a fondness that KIlgon had never shown to his own instrument. “Besides, I think when you’re not trying to terrorize people with that thing, you have plenty of skill.”</p><p>Those words made Kilgon’s lips tilt up in an uncharacteristically bashful way. “...Thanks,” he replied, grip loosening his hold on his flute. “Maybe we could-” He tapped along the holes of his flute. “-play together sometime or something.”</p><p>Barnaby smiled. “Yeah, I would be up for that.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Campsites and Books</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kilgon and Cranberi have a little talk.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kilgon attempted to discreetly slide the book in his hands inside of his tunic when he noticed that Cranberi had been watching him for who knows how long. The perfect crime. "This is a picture book," he assured her, a flawless a cover. </p><p>Cranberi rolled her eyes, finger trailing in the dirt. "I don't know why you're trying to lie to me of all people about that." Her eyes trailed after his hands as he confidently (not sheepishly, he has never felt sheepish in his LIFE) tucked the book farther beneath his tunic. “What's it about?” </p><p>He fell still for a moment at that. “It’s about-” He felt the lie on the tip of his lips, tantalizing him. For some reason, something was stopping him from using it. “It's definitely not about the relationship between neurology and magic,” he settled on. It was still a lie, but an easy one to unwind. Usually when asked that question, he just said some inane bullshit about boats he made up on the spot. That one got funnier once he actually started learning about them for real. It made the lies more satisfying.</p><p>“Huh.” Cranberi gave him a weird look after he answered and he was not a big fan of it. Sometimes she looked at him like he was a puzzle she couldn't solve (probably didn't even want to solve) and it made him feel exposed. “What kind pictures would even be in a book about that…?”</p><p>“Oh you know.” </p><p>“What? No, I <em> don't </em> know. That's why I asked.”</p><p>Kilgon pouted at her answer. Usually people gave up when he said that. “I don't know, brains or whatever.” It was time for a subject change. “What are you even doing up? I know you have to get eight hours whatever.”</p><p>Cranberi sighed. “Just couldn't sleep. It's one of those nights.” </p><p>“Oh.” Kilgon kicked at a rock. This was no longer a fun conversation. “That sucks. Do you want me to bore you yo sleep with a bedtime story about nervous systems and the effect magic has on them?”</p><p>She snorted at that. “I thought it was a picture book.”</p><p>“They're very good pictures.”</p><p>Cranberi laughed at that. Gottem! He always eventually gets one out of a person. “You know what? Why not. Tell me a bedtime story.”</p><p>A grin stretched across his face. “You will be SO bored by this.” Kilgon clambered over to her, nearly tripping over Nami in his haste. He dug the book back out of his tunic and turned to the page he had stopped on. </p><p>She settled back into her spot as Kilgon started reading to her. “Genetically determined circuits are the foundation of the nervous system. In the same way, magic-” And so on.</p>
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